The present invention relates to the field of commercial beverage production. In particular, the invention relates to improvements in the commercial in-line production of beverages that require reconstitution from concentrated bases and heat pasteurization or sterilization.
The commercial production of beverages requires stringent control over cleanliness and the proportionality of blended ingredients. In particular, due to the perishable nature of natural fruit juices, great care must be taken in the pasteurization or sterilization of beverages containing fruit juices. Pasteurization or sterilization typically requires heating the components of the beverage possibly containing bacteria to approximately 175xc2x0 to 220xc2x0 Fahrenheit. Heating and cooling of these liquids presents a challenge for optimizing energy efficiency, product quality and minimizing production costs.
Furthermore, the manufacturing process involving the production of beverages from concentrate, such as fruit juices, requires the production of a final product having an appropriate Brix. Brix refers to the soluble solid/sugar content of a fluid. The standard of identity for orange juice in the United States, for example, is 11.8xc2x0 Brix. When the beverage is made with a concentrate having a starting Brix level of approximately 45xc2x0 to 75xc2x0, carefully controlled dilution is desired to achieve an acceptable final Brix content of the reconstituted beverage. Conventional techniques for dilution typically call for more than 90% of the diluent to be added in a single batch combination, making attainment of the targeted Brix degree difficult.
Furthermore, the conventional production of beverages requires heating for pasteurization or sterilization of either the concentrate or the substantially complete beverage mixture. The energy required to heat such fluids is much greater than that required to heat water, for example. The conventional process further incorporates thermal abuse of flavors and nutrients due to heat degrading. Currently, fruit drink beverages are typically prepared from concentrates requiring a three-step process. First, the concentrated fruit juice is diluted in very large, e.g. 3,000 to 10,000 gallon, blend tanks. Then, additional ingredients, such as pulp, vitamins, minerals, preservatives, colorings or flavorings, are blended with the reconstituted juice. Next, the final beverage is heat-pasteurized or sterilized. Alternatively, some of these additional ingredients that are heat-labile may be added after the pasteurization or sterilization process. Furthermore, in addition to heating the beverage ingredients, there are known alternative pasteurization or sterilization techniques such as filtration, ozonation, and ultraviolet or pulsed light treatment.
Therefore, existing systems for heat-pasteurized or sterilized beverage production require a great deal of energy, and a more efficient system would be desirable. A system that minimizes the required energy and heat abuse of valuable ingredients (such as certain flavorings, nutrients and coloring) would be desirable. Present batch blending techniques of beverage production are insufficient for controlling soluble solids content at the desired accuracy. A system for beverage production that provides improved control over final Brix is needed. A system that also requires less manufacturing equipment floor space and takes less time and labor for reconstituted beverage production would also be desirable.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a more efficient system for heat-pasteurized or sterilized beverage production from concentrate that requires less energy than conventional processes.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a more efficient system for heat-pasteurized or sterilized beverage production from concentrate that results in less degradation of heat-labile beverage components than conventional processes.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system for beverage production that provides improved control over the accuracy of the additives and Brix of the final product.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system that also requires less manufacturing equipment space and takes less time and labor to produce a reconstituted beverage than conventional techniques.
The present invention provides a system and apparatus to meet these and other objectives. The invention provides an improved system and apparatus for producing a heat-pasteurized or sterilized beverage from concentrate. In preferred embodiments, the beverage contains fruit juice. The invention provides an improved system and apparatus for producing a heat-pasteurized or sterilized beverage with minimal degradation of heat-labile components. The invention provides a system and apparatus for the production of such a beverage requiring less energy, equipment floor space, labor and time than previously required with more specific control over Brix and other additives content. In summary, the beverage of the present invention is produced more efficiently at a higher level of quality.